What the County's sustainability office must do

resilience. (a) Policy and program development. The office shall: (1) Establish policies and programs to promote sustainability, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and build the County’s resilience to the impacts of climate change and other natural and human caused hazards. These policies and programs shall be developed after consideration of resources such as the County’s general plan, County community development plans, County multi- hazard mitigation plan and County climate action plan, State law, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. SUPP. 16 (7-2024) 37-2 SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE, EQUITY, AND RESILIENCE § 37-2-1 (2) Improve environmental justice and equity by promoting specific policies and actions to ensure that sustainability, change mitigation and adaptation, and resilience efforts also benefit lower and middle income, Native Hawaiian, and historically marginalized communities. These policies and actions should include utilization of place-based, Native Hawaiian guiding principles, tools, and frameworks to guide, inform, coordinate, and evaluate proposed actions and activities. (3) Regularly engage with stakeholders to assess and assure that policies and actions are implemented in a manner that is immediate, direct, and coordinated, and employs strategies that are equitable in their impact on various communities in the County. (4) Ensure policies, practices, and actions are trauma-informed to promote resilience, health, and wellness. (b) Shared metrics. The office shall develop metrics, benchmarks, and data visualization tools to track and communicate progress towards sustainability, climate mitigation and adaptation, equity, and resilience goals. (c) Coordination, collaboration, and education. The office shall: (1) Coordinate communication among County departments and with community partners to develop and promote a shared vision and collaborative approach to implementing solutions that are based upon a clear understanding of the issues and challenges related to sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, equity, and resilience within a trauma-informed framework and approach. (2) Coordinate and provide technical support to County departments to create policies and programs designed to implement and measure sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, equity, trauma informed, and resilience strategies. (3) Collaborate with County departments and community stakeholders on sustainability, climate change mitigation and adaptation, equity, trauma informed, and resilience strategies to maximize collective impact through mutually reinforcing activities. (4) Provide education, outreach, and support, both internally and externally, that promotes climate sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives in a manner utilizing trauma informed principles and best practices that promotes equity and resilience and the capability to adapt effectively in the face of adversity. (d) Legislation and budget. The office shall: (1) Evaluate potential impacts of climate change on County human resources, facilities, and infrastructure and provide operating and capital improvement budget recommendations for consideration in addition to the recommendations of the planning department. 37-3 SUPP. 16 (7-2024) (2) Provide policy analysis and propose legislation to the Council to implement this section. (3) Provide the Council with an annual sustainability report. (e) Grants and funding. The office shall: (1) Investigate and provide technical support for grant applications and grant management to support funding to implement this section. (2) Prepare programs and contracts with the Federal government to carry out the purposes of this article and transmit to the Council for approval. (f) The office shall perform other related duties necessary to fulfill the mandate of the office. (2023, ord 23-56, sec 3; am 2024, ord 24-8, sec 5.) 37-2-1 SUPP. 16 (7-2024) 37-4